Forking over hard-earned cash for expensive textbooks is becoming a problem
for some University of Montana students.

Victoria Hull, a freshman, has definitely noticed
the high prices during her first year at UM, she said. Hull purchased more
costly books this semester than the previous, shelling out $160 more.

According to a report called “Ripoff 101,” written
by the State Public Interest Research Groups, textbook publishers have
increased book prices by 62 percent since 1994.

One reason for this increase is publishers who
“bundle” books — or package them as a set — which irritates college bookstores,
said Bryan Thornton, manager of the Bookstore.

Books are being packaged with compact discs and
other related course materials, which tacks on a 10 percent increase, according
to the report.

The book for Chemistry 161, for example, is
bundled along with a molecular model set for organic stereochemistry and
another book titled “General Chemistry: An active learning approach.” The
three-item bundle costs $100.85 new and $75.65 used. However, there are no used
books to purchase for the class and the books cannot be returned once the seal
has been broken. And there are four more books that students can purchase for
the class, bringing the total up to $207.50. Bundles such as these make it
harder for bookstores to resell the books as used.

“Students are in a strange spot,” Thornton said.

With the high cost of tuition and other University
fees, most students don’t plan ahead for the price of books, Thornton said.

“It’s like adding insult to injury — the total
cost gets to be unpleasant,” Thornton said.

Hull said a fellow classmate had to explain to her
professor that her assignment would be late because she could not afford the
book the first week of class.

For students struggling to pay for pricey
textbooks, Thornton recommended visiting the Bookstore’s online text exchange
Web site. There, Thornton said, students can find a used book at a cheap price.
However, the downside is the student does not know the condition of the book
and the book can’t be sold back, he said. Thornton also said the Bookstore does
put some books on the library shelves, but not enough for an entire class.

Some college bookstores participate in rental
programs for students who cannot afford a new book. A student pays a fee for
the use of a book for a semester and returns it in good condition at the end of
the term.

But in order to do this, the faculty member has to
commit to using the book for a few years, because the average new textbook
edition is released every three years, Thornton said. UM does not offer the
service.

“This was more common years ago, when universities
weren’t as large and books didn’t cost as much,” he said.

Hull said a girl in her sorority bought a book on
Amazon.com for $20 less than the Bookstore’s price.

That large of a difference can add up when buying
a lot of books, she said.

On the Bookstore’s Web site, students can find a
link to Amazon.com. Students can compare prices and even purchase books online
from either Amazon.com or the Bookstore.

Shopping online can be hit or miss. Some books are
cheaper on Amazon.com and others are cheaper at the Bookstore. “Essential
Biology with Physiology” is priced at $90 new and $67.50 used at the Bookstore.
On Amazon.com it is $96 new and $67.95 used.

Some prices don’t favor the Bookstore, but
Thornton recommends only purchasing a book for up to 75 percent of the new
price online.

Shipping books can take three to four days from
Amazon.com and students have to pay to return the book. When students buy a
book at UM, they can stop by the Bookstore to return it, Thornton said.

“There is no villain, just a weird cycle that has
been set up,” Thornton said.

College bookstores’ prices for individual books
rarely differ, Thornton said. It is the middleman — suppliers such as Barnes
& Noble, Follett Educational Services and the Nebraska Book Co. — that
cause used book prices to fluctuate.

“We are trying to find a way to facilitate the
exchange of books from bookstore to bookstore, cutting out the middleman,”
Thornton said. Thornton explained the system as follows, based on a $100 book:

When a $100 book is being used for the next
semester, UM’s bookstore will buy back the book from the student for $65. It
will then resell the used book the following semester to a student for $75.

If the professor doesn’t plan to use the book the
next term, the sellback price at the end of the semester is $10. The Bookstore
sells the used book to a wholesale store for $10. In return, the wholesale
store sells the book to another university bookstore for $50. That store sells
the book for $75 to a student.

Thornton said the number of books sold has not
decreased with increased prices.

According to “Ripoff 101,” students on average
will shell out $900 each year buying books. That is nearly 40 percent of the
amount an in-state student pays for tuition and fees each semester at the
University, according to information from the Financial Aid Office Web site.